WHEREAS due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the trial of the five accused of involvement in the death of radio broadcaster Valério Luiz, which had been scheduled for June 23, 2020 and was postponed due to the interruption of activities, has not yet been carried out; that the journalist was murdered in 2012 when he left the radio where he worked in Goiânia, in the state of Goiás; who were denounced: Urbano de Carvalho Malta, Marcus Vinícius Pereira Xavier, Ademá Figueredo Aguiar Filho, Djalma Gomes da Silva, and the former president of Atlético Goianiense, Maurício Borges Carvalho, the latter appointed as the mastermind of the crime; that until April 12, 2021 there was no prediction of a new date for the trial
WHEREAS on April 7, 2021, the date on which the Day of the Journalist is celebrated in Brazil, representatives of the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Abraji), Article 19, Conectas Human Rights, Intervozes - Coletivo Brasil de Comunicação Social, National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), Vladimir Herzog Institute, Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have filed a public letter to the presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM-MG), and the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), in which they ask Pacheco and Lira to commit to the freedom of the press and the security of journalists, communicators and communicators in the country
WHEREAS, in the document, the entities make recommendations for the leaders of the National Congress to act in the defense of a safe environment for the press, guaranteeing mechanisms of transparency and access to information; that the entities also warn about the negative impact that would have the approval of the bills currently being processed in the Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies that aim to restrict the work of journalists, communicators and communicators
WHEREAS, in the said Charter, the entities mention the reissue of the Aristeu Guida da Silva Booklet by the Ministry of Human Rights, containing international standards and the obligations of the Brazilian State on freedom of expression and the rights of journalists and communicators; that the Primer was launched upon a recommendation made by the IAPA in an agreement between the Brazilian State and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, based on the finding that the murder of Aristeu Guida da Silva was not properly investigated and punished
WHEREAS, in response to the letter, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said that he would ask the Senate's communications sector to conduct an "information guarantee campaign with fairness, independence and autonomy, abolishing any type of violence in relation to professionals whose main objective is information "
WHEREAS Bill No. 2874/2020, initiated by Senator Weverton Rocha Marques de Sousa (PDT-MA), is being processed in the Senate, amending the 1940 Penal Code and proposes to aggravate the penalty for the crime of bodily injury committed against press professionals in the exercise of their profession or because of it
WHEREAS the intellectual authors of the crimes against Aristeu Guida da Silva, murdered on May 12, 1995 in the municipality of São Fidélis, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, remain unpunished; Manoel Leal de Oliveira, murdered in January 1998 in Itabuna, Bahia; Ivan Rocha, disappeared April 1991 in Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia; Reinaldo Coutinho da Silva, murdered on August 29, 1995, in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro; Edgar Lopes de Faria, murdered on October 29, 1997 in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, and José Carlos Mesquita, murdered on March 10, 1998 in Ouro Preto do Oeste, Rondônia
WHEREAS principle 4 of the Chapultepec Declaration provides that "Murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, unjust imprisonment of journalists, material destruction of the media, any type of violence and impunity for aggressors, seriously affect freedom of expression and the press. These acts must be promptly investigated and severely punished. "
THE IAPA MID-YEAR MEETING DECIDES
Support and reinforce the recommendations made in the Public Letter to the National Congress in Defense of Freedom of Expression in Brazil, organized by the entities Abraji, Article 19, Conectas Human Rights, Intervozes, FENAJ, Vladimir Herzog Institute, CPJ and RSF
Request compliance with international norms to which Brazil is a signatory, contained in the Aristeu Guida da Silva Primer, which was re-launched by the Brazilian government, among them, that "State agents should not adopt public speeches that expose journalists and other communicators and communicators greater risk of violence or increase their vulnerability "; and that "state authorities constantly, explicitly and publicly recognize the legitimacy and value of journalism and communication, even in situations where the information disclosed may be critical or inconvenient
